Richard Damron's Ibeniz guitar was one of the treasured possessions that was damaged in a fire last Saturday in Gallatin, Tenn. / Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean

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Shirley Damron's pendant that belonged to her grandmother was one of the few things salvaged when her house was destroyed by a fire. / Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean

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Black soot stained Richard Damron’s fingernails.

It came from digging through the remains of his home at the end of Brazier Lane, on the outskirts of Gallatin. Beneath a patch of sunlight streaming through what used to be his roof, he found the remnants of a jewelry case.

“Maybe I can find something in there,” he said as he picked through the soot. “If I found any pieces of her jewelry, that would just tickle Shirley.”

The Damrons lost everything in a fire that started in their home office last Saturday. Their 2,400-square-foot home is charred, and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

The fire started around 5 p.m. Shirley placed the 911 call at 5:12, and Gallatin volunteer firefighters extinguished the fire.

Richard, 77, tried to put the fire out on his own with a garden hose and suffered first-degree burns and smoke inhalation. He stayed in the hospital overnight.

Buried treasure

“Everything is gone and pretty much a total loss,” Shirley said. “I feel really blessed. Some things can be retrieved, but stuff is stuff.”

Among the remains, the couple’s night stand stood beside a burned bed frame. In the bottom drawer, Shirley kept special pieces of jewelry and her wedding ring boxes in a brown Jared’s bag.

“I came here looking in particular for a few things,” Richard said. “Some bric a bac, my checkbook, her birthday money and her necklace. When I walked into the bedroom, I was single-minded. All I wanted to get was that bag. So, I came charging back here, kicked some junk out of the way and opened up the bottom drawer. And there it was.

“From that point on, all else didn’t matter.”

Shirley’s necklace that she had worn every day for years sat in the bag. The gold piece necklace from 1893 had been her grandmother’s.

“I looked at it the other day, but this can’t be replaced, and I’ve had it for so many years,” said Shirley, 70.

Richard’s music room was a total loss. More than 150 vinyl records burned. As a retired professional musician, he collected equipment and instruments through the years that cannot be replaced.

But losing his stuffed rabbits made Richard the saddest. For each of the past 15 years, his best friends have given him a stuffed rabbit for his birthday as a gag gift.

“Those aren’t replaceable,” Richard said. “I know it’s a stupid little thing that this old man likes his stuffed rabbits, but I could look at one particular rabbit and remember the person that gave it to me.”

Another new beginning

Even though each has health problems, Richard and Shirley want to rebuild in the same spot. They now live with family in Cottontown. The family is looking for small pieces of furniture so Shirley can continue working from home as an accountant for a security company.

“Our church family is really small but has been really good to us,” Richard said. “We only need a few things to get us by, just enough to get by.”

Reach Emily West at 615-259-8205 or via email at ewest@tennessean.com. Ask her questions on Twitter @emwest22.